How successful was Mao in developing a revolutionary spirit among China's youth during the Cultural Revolution?

Question 1

Agree - Revolutionary spirit through propaganda

Answer 1

• The regime urged total to Maoist thought. At workplaces each morning people bowed to Mao’s portrait and asked for instructions’ for the day ahead. Mao’s works were referred to as ‘treasure books and special ceremonies were held to celebrate their sale. Mao’s thoughts were revered as the word of God. The message of the cult, namely that Mao was a near-divine being worthy of worship was encapsulated in the song.
• As Zhou Enlai put it simply, Whatever accords with Mao Zedong Thought is right, while whatever does not accord with Mao Zedong Thought is wrong. Mao built a propaganda cult that effectively placed him above all other Party leaders Whipped into frenzy of adulation, Mao called the Red Guards to Beijing to personally encourage them to attack his enemies.

Question 2

Agree - Purging of Intellectuals

Answer 2

• As a result of the Cultural Revolution, China became a cultural desert. Scholars, writers and teachers were persecuted, imprisoned or killed. Many high-ranking officials, intellectuals and individuals associated with the pre-Communist era were purged. There was disruption of governance and significant loss of life. The Cultural Revolution also resulted in economic turmoil and stagnation as the focus shifted from economic development to political struggle.
• Intellectuals associated with liberal thoughts were ruthlessly targeted. Some were kidnapped; others were killed. Many took their own lives, unable to stand the unremitting threats. One such example was the renowned playwright Lao She. His house was burned by middle school Red Guards and he was denounced at struggle meetings where he was made to wear a dunce’s hat. To escape the constant harassment he drowned himself in Taiping Lake near Beijing in late August 1966.

Question 3

Agree - The Marches

Answer 3

• In July 1965 Red Guards from Tsinghua University in Beijing sent Mao a ‘big character poster` entitled ‘Long live the proletarian revolutionary spirit of rebellion!’ Mao replied to them personally, writing You say that it is right to rebel against reactionaries: I enthusiastically support you.’
• On 5 August 1966, Mao heightened the revolutionary atmosphere when he had his own big character poster published in Beijing that urged the people to Bombard the Headquarters’. The message was clear: it was an encouragement to attack the leaders of the Communist Party who, in Mao’s words, had ‘taken the reactionary stand of the bourgeoisie’ and ‘enforced a bourgeois dictatorship’. In August Mao announced, ‘Let the rest of the country come to Beijing. or Beijing go to the rest of the country. Train transport is free isn’t it?’

Question 4

Disagree - the lack of revolutionary spirit in rural areas

Answer 4

• In contrast with the cities, much of China’s countryside was largely untouched by the violence and disruption of the Cultural Revolution. There was relatively little Red Guard activity and peasants were not drawn into the power struggles of the Cultural Revolution.
• The barefoot doctor program was launched in 1968 as part of the Chinese government’s effort to expand healthcare access to rural areas. Before the movement, many rural communities had little to no access to medical care, leading to high mortality rates from diseases, infections, and poor sanitation. Barefoot doctors played a key role in reducing the spread of infectious diseases, promoting basic hygiene, and improving maternal and child health.

Question 5

Disagree - the uncontrolled anarchy which resulted in unnecessary violence

Answer 5

• January Storm: The biggest example of the anarchy spiralling out of control was in Shanghai in early 1967, the so-called ‘January Storm’. Encouraged by Mao’s calls to attack the Party, radical rebel Red Guard groups, made up not of students but of unprivileged workers in the city, destroyed the Party establishment and created their own form of control modelled on the Paris Commune of 1871 when the city’s labourers had seized control and created a new social order with democratic elections.
• For all Mao’s encouragement of the anarchy, In reality,’ he said, ‘there will always be “Heads”.’ He observed that in Shanghai, There are people who wave the Red Flag to bring down the Red Flag.’ In this wave of ‘ultra-democracy’ the radicals were calling for the abolition of the Party itself and, he said, ‘that won’t do’ He demanded that the commune in Shanghai be closed down.